Rastafarian Miss Jamaica 2007- Black Women’s Hair Reloaded
Jamaica Chooses a Rastafarian Beauty
The beautiful and stately 25 year old Rastafarian, Zhara Redwood, Miss Jamaica 2007 has decided to buck the trends and challenge the stereotypical images of beauty I have been discussing this past month. She will be representing Jamaica in the upcoming Miss Universe Competition in Mexico on Monday May 28th, 2007.
I do not retract my criticisms of attitudes present in sections of the Jamaican church against black women’s natural or short hair styles. In fact, since Rastafarianism is still looked down upon by most “mainline” Christians in Jamaica, I can just imagine what the response was like at home among the Christian community. Oh to have been there!
Real Rastafarian or Fake Dreadlocks
Truth be told, I was stunned a few weeks ago when Derri, a regular reader of this Blog who resides in Jamaica, shared this information with me. Being aware of the attitude of sections of the Rastafarian community toward beauty pageants, I was surprised that a Rastafarian woman entered a beauty competition. So I thought that she must obviously be wearing a dreadlocked hairstyle. She couldn’t be a real Rasta. No sah, not in Jamaica.
Until I saw Zhara’s hair in this news report. Yup! Them there are no fake tresses! What do you think?
So I put on the Jamaican folk culture lens and peered as closely as I could at her hair. I grunted knowingly…hmm hmm, ok, she is of mixed parentage. That explains a lot of things about the hair including the length for one thing. The thing with Jamaicans is that it is very difficult to tell what the specific mix might be, and sometimes looking at the parents can be misleading so you have to go back to a few generations well. But I digress…
Dreadlocks – The Connection Between Hair, Religion & Social Class
So where was I. The question is can she win? But before I even get there. What a signal message this is, coming out of Jamaica! Anyone with the slightest familiarity with the social and political issues surrounding colour, skin and class in Jamaica might understand the gravity of this issue. See Anita M Waters, work on Race, Class, and Political Symbols: Rastafari and Reggae in Jamaican Politics in which she builds on the seminal work of Professor M. G. Smith noted Anthropologist who studied Jamaica’s social systems and the link between colour and class in Jamaica.
So is the world ready for a dreadlocked Miss Universe? Will her charms and personality outshine the fabulous locks. And seriously – I know at least one woman who is positively green with envy at Miss Jamaica’s dreadlocks. A Jamaican has never won the Miss Universe Crown although they have won the Miss World title 3 times.
Will Zhara be the one to break that trend? What a karamba that would be. I have no great fondness for beauty pageants, but I admit I will be watching this one. I simply have to see this historic event at least from a Jamaican perspective, and also from that of a Jamaican woman interested in women pioneers.
Dreadlocks or Baldhead – Who Gets My Vote?
Yes I would vote for Miss Jamaica, but wait.. there is Miss Tanzania.
Back to Black women’s hair or lack thereof, has anyone seen Miss Tanzania? The girl has absolutely NO hair. I mean clean shaved head like Sinead O’Connor. Well listen, if you have not yet seen her check her out. She is one beautiful girl. To me she defines a beautiful woman with bald head.
Speaking of herself in an interview Miss Tanzania – Flaviana Matata said “I never let anyone define me neither by hair nor clothing as I believe God made me perfect as a pure, natural African woman.”
Visit the Miss Universe website for pictures of Miss Jamaica 2007 and Miss Tanzania 2007 – “The Dreadlocks and The Baldhead” – and Jamaicans can truly appreciate what that means.
More when we reload this topic again…
Peace,
Marvia
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July 19th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
[...] and their hair and of course they came from two of my favourite bloggers. Marvia of and Alice. Black Women’s Hair Reloaded Loving Your Hair is Loving [...]